


The Most Dangerous Animal

by Libraryadia, Mara_Jade101



Series: Kids No More [14]
Category: Encyclopedia Brown - Donald J. Sobol
Genre: Angry Sally, Encyclopedia Brown is called "EB", F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kid Detectives AU, Kidnapping, that's only by Sally though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:12:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 4,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26240179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Libraryadia/pseuds/Libraryadia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mara_Jade101/pseuds/Mara_Jade101
Summary: Encyclopedia Brown and Sally Kimball have been working together and solving mysteries for six years now and they're determined to take the next step in their friendship. But when Encyclopedia is kidnapped in order to blackmail his father, will Sally be able to save him in time?
Relationships: Encyclopedia Brown & Chief Brown & Mrs. Brown, Encyclopedia Brown & Sally Kimball, Encyclopedia Brown & Sally Kimball & Bugs Meany, Encyclopedia Brown/Sally Kimball
Series: Kids No More [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1889242





	1. Chapter 1: Encyclopedia

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! We are back at it again with another Kid Detectives AU that I know you all will enjoy! 
> 
> (At least, I hope you do...)

Encyclopedia watched his father pick at his dinner and mentally sighed. Whatever case he was working on was clearly weighing on his mind; not necessarily a surprise but still something he never liked to see worrying his father. Not that he didn’t enjoy the mind exercises that were his father’s more troublesome cases but he never liked seeing his father upset.

“So,” he began. “Tough case?”

His mother smiled at him before turning to his father. “Why don’t you tell Leroy about it? He’s always helped you before.”

To both their surprises however, Chief Brown slammed his silverware down at his wife’s statement, prompting both her and Encyclopedia to jump. “No. Not this case. Not this time.”

Encyclopedia blinked. This had never happened before; it wasn’t uncommon for his father to insist he keep away from the actual crime scenes and police work but this was the first time he had refused to even discuss what he had found…

“Dad?”

Chief Brown sighed. “Sorry. It’s just...this case is probably my most dangerous to date. People turning up injured or unconscious if they go certain places and few leads on exactly what we’re up against. I’d rather you not be involved in that.”

Encyclopedia bit back a sigh. He was of two minds about this. On the one hand, he understood that his father was only doing this out of love and protectiveness but on the other, he was 16; he wasn’t in elementary school anymore and while Sally was still the better fighter of the two of them, he could handle himself well enough if things were to get dicey.

Chief Brown forced a smile and started eating his dinner. “I’m fine. Really. It’s just…”

He didn’t have to finish his sentence. They knew exactly what he meant.

XXX

“You’re kidding!” Sally said incredulously. “Your dad is actually shutting you out completely?”

Encyclopedia nodded. “What with all the attacks on people and very few leads, he thinks it’s too dangerous to involve me, even in the standard minor consulting role.”

Sally nodded thoughtfully. “Well, if he doesn’t have any leads or clues, there’s not much he can consult you on.”

Encyclopedia nodded pensively. While he still was unhappy with (and though he wouldn’t say it aloud, unnerved by) the current situation, it did make sense on more than one level for his father to keep him out of the current investigation. But that didn’t change the knot in his stomach…


	2. Chapter 2- Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally and Encyclopedia talk about his father's decision when an old crush of Sally's drops by to warn them.

Sally shook her head at her best friend’s worry. “You’ve got that look again,” she teased.

He blinked at her. “What look?”

“The look you get when you have a bad idea and you know it, but you really want to do it,” she said, sitting next to him in his garage. “Word of advice: DON’T DO IT!!!”

He made a face and sighed. “I'm not going to do it, Sal. I'm just worried about Dad; that's all.”

“Uh-huh,” she said and then heard something outside. “Heads up. Someone has a case.”

He groaned and buried his head in his hands before clearing off the table.

“No case, actually,” a voice spoke up as they entered the room. “Just wanted to talk.”

Sally spewed her drink. “For the record, I don't like you, Pablo, so buzz off!”

“Well, who do you like then?” he countered.

“That's none of your business!” she snarled, hoping that Encyclopedia didn't notice the blush in her cheeks.

“What do you want, Pablo?” he interrupted.

Sally threw him a major “thank you” look as she nervously fiddled with her hands.

“You have heard the rumors about the exotic animal smugglers, right?”

Encyclopedia blinked and sat up as straight as he could. “What exotic animal smugglers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so there will be references to the 1990's tv show based on the Encyclopedia Brown book series.
> 
> Encyclopedia's full name is Leroy Scott Brown, Scott being a reference to the actor who played him on the tv show.  
> Sally's full name is Sally Laura Kimball, Laura being a reference to the actress who played her on the tv show.  
> Chief Brown's name is Bruno Brown, again, another reference to the actor who played him on the tv show.  
> Mrs. Brown's name is Delia Brown, a roundabout reference to Donald Sobel, with Della being the name of Donald Duck’s sister in the new Ducktales.
> 
> I hope this helps! ~Mara Jade


	3. Chapter 3: Encyclopedia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Encyclopedia learns more about the case- and why his father doesn't want him involved.

Pablo nodded. “It’s only a bunch of rumors but people have been talking about seeing things like tree frogs, snakes and such. Not to mention the people who claim to see packages of illegally exotic meats.”

Encyclopedia frowned. “Are you sure about this?”

Pablo shrugged. “Like I said, it’s mostly just rumors. But there’s clearly SOMETHING going on around town. People walking around talking in hushed tones, certain locations and pathways being dangerous to walk near at certain times of day and the majority of the police force being tied up in something that they can’t seem to discuss.”

Encyclopedia thought about this. If the rumors were true, that would definitely explain why his father wanted to keep him out of this investigation. Especially since people had apparently gotten attacked…

“Where did you hear about this?” Sally asked, breaking Encyclopedia out of his thoughts. “We hadn’t heard much more than there being something big the police are involved in.”

Pablo shrugged again. “Around town; it’s buzzing all over. I guess everyone but me assumed that you knew and either decided to stay out of it or were quietly involved.”

Sally laughed. “Staying out of it this time. This is too big a bite for us to chew.”

Pablo blinked in surprise. “Considering everything you’ve been involved in up to this point, I must admit to being surprised you’re taking that stance.”

“Most of the kidnappings and murders I just consulted with my dad about,” Encyclopedia said. “I don’t go looking for those kinds of cases.” He found himself chuckling. “Actually, I don’t go looking for cases at all; they just find me.”

Sally and Pablo joined him in laughing.


	4. Chapter 4- Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a confession.
> 
> Almost a confession*
> 
> We sure do love our families interrupting us when we're about to confess our feelings for another person, right?

“So, are you going to check it out still?” she asked him after Pablo left.

Encyclopedia sighed. “While I want to, Dad is right. I don't really want to get hurt, either.”

Sally nodded. “I'm with you there.” Seeing the confused expression on his face, she quickly added, “Not that I want you to get hurt; I don't. I don't want to get hurt too…”

He took her hands in his and squeezed them gently. “I don't want you to either.”

They glanced down at their conjoined hands and quickly pulled them apart, Sally feeling her cheeks warm with her love for him. Encyclopedia looked up at her and said quietly, “Sally… there’s something I need to tell you...”

“Leroy? Are you in here?”

Encyclopedia groaned. “Yes, Mom!”

His mom opened the indoor garage door and smiled. “OK; good! Can you do me a favor and run the letters up to the post office? I can't exactly leave the house with the cakes cooking.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I can.”

With a smile, his mom closed the door.

“What cakes?” Sally asked.

He shrugged. “One’s for dessert tonight, and the other is for the Independence Day party this afternoon.”

She nodded. “That’s right; I forgot about that. I need to get ready for it anyway. See you then?”

He nodded. “Yeah; see you then, Sal.”

He gave her a quick hug and ran inside. Sally smiled and left the garage after taking down the sign that said he was in business. She had to be ready for today. After all, she was going to confess to Encyclopedia at the party. 


	5. Chapter 5: Encyclopedia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Encyclopedia doesn't pay attention to his instincts and he gets into trouble. Sally isn't there to save him this time...

Encyclopedia waited in line at the post office, thinking about the party. It would be the perfect time to tell Sally how he really felt about her. She had always been his best friend, ever since their partnership had begun, but now...now he wanted to be more.

He broke out of his thoughts to drop off the letters and headed back home.

Suddenly a voice caught his attention. “Hey! Leroy Brown, right?”

He turned to see a police officer he didn’t recognize but that honestly wasn’t a surprise. Given Idaville’s track record for crimes solved, it wasn’t uncommon for cops from other cities, rookie or vetern, to come to Idaville and spend some time on the force, hoping to pick up whatever it was that made the town’s flawless record; it didn’t work but many of them admitted to enjoying the change of pace even if they couldn’t exactly reproduce what gave Idaville its track record. Sally had half-seriously suggested he take to online consulting and he admitted it made sense.

But he pulled out of his thoughts to smile at the man. “That’s me. Can I help you?”

“Yeah. Since I’m new here, the chief has me on the run-of-the-mill stuff while he and his veterans concentrate on this big case the town has been buzzing about. One of them said that you’re a real wonder at crime scenes.”

Encyclopedia half-shrugged. “I have solved more than my fair share of cases, yes.”

“Well, do you mind giving me a hand? I need to wrap this break-in that I’m looking into up fast because if I don’t, I’ll miss my window for talking to my wife. She’s going to school and being the overachiever she is, has loaded her course schedule up with as many courses as she can fit so she only has a short amount of time in the evenings before she turns in for the night.”

Encyclopedia nodded. “I suppose I can at least look at it and see if I can give you some leads.”

“Thanks a million, Kid.”

As he followed the officer, Encyclopedia was surprised to hear a concerned voice in the back of his head.  _ “Are you sure you should be doing this?” _

He shook off the voice. He wasn’t looking into anything dangerous; his father had brought him on more than one break-in case and the scariest thing he had ever gotten involved with was honestly that “hitchhiker” case (which honestly still made him shiver to think about). And since it was just a simple break-in, he’d be done quickly and heading back to prepare for the party.

He cocked an eyebrow at the plain car the officer led him to. “No patrol car?”

“The chief didn’t think they could spare one right now.”

Encyclopedia paused in front of the back door but shook off his confusion. That did make sense.

They drove for a while and finally pulled up in front of a house that looked deserted though Encyclopedia recognized the area. “Where’s the family?”

“They went to the hotel. Wanted to wait it out there; said it made them more comfortable.”

Encyclopedia managed to shake off his confusion again but it was harder this time.

As they approached the door, the officer suddenly grabbed Encyclopedia’s arm. “Oh; I just remembered something.”

Encyclopedia turned to face him only to receive a faceful of cloth as he was pinned to the door-frame. The smell on it wasn’t chloroform as it didn’t knock him out quickly but it did quickly make him feel weak and paralyzed, his voice gone.  _ ‘Ether...shit…’ _

He dimly noticed a second man coming out of the house before the pair of them swiftly bound and gagged him, tying on a thick blindfold before tossing him in the backseat of the car.

_ ‘What do they want with me? And what do I do now?’ _

A slap to the back of the head banished all thought as his world went dark…


	6. Chapter 6- Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally learns about the kidnapping.

Sally came into the Brown’s house two hours earlier than she should have been. “Hey, Encyclopedia!” she shouted. “You in here?”

Mrs. Brown poked her head out of the kitchen. “Sally! I've been looking for you! Have you heard from Leroy any?”

She blinked. “Noooo; not since this morning… why?”

“He hasn't come home yet, that's why. I thought he was with you after delivering the mail and forgot to tell me, but…”

There was a shout from outside and Chief Brown came into the room with his hat in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.

“Bruno?” Mrs. Brown whispered. “Are you alright?”

He sank into the chair in the living room and sighed. “Leroy’s been kidnapped.”


	7. Chapter 7: Chief Bruno Brown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruno deals with his son's kidnapping.

Bruno winced at the shocked gasps from his wife and Sally.

“But that can’t be!” Sally said in horror. “He agreed that we should stay out of whatever that big case you were working on was.”

Bruno shook his head. “However it happened, it did. Now I’m to stop investigating the exotic animal smugglers we’ve been trying to track down.”

“What?!” Sally yelped. “You mean the rumors are true?!”

Bruno nodded. “We just haven’t been having much luck figuring out where they’re operating from or how they’re managing to get their goods in and out of town.”

Delia let out a sob. “I can’t believe this.”

Bruno sighed and hugged his wife, letting the letter drop from his hand.

He dimly noticed Sally picking it up and despite knowing it wasn’t proper procedure, couldn’t bring himself to scold her for not using gloves.

Her lips moving silently, Sally let out a sob as she read “If you ever want to see Leroy alive again…”

“What are you going to do, Dear?” Della asked.

Bruno sighed. “What else? Try to find a way to stop the investigation. It might not be proper procedures or policy...but it’s Leroy…”

Sally set the letter on the table, mumbled something about the garage and fled. Bruno couldn’t blame her; he couldn’t be sure how this happened but somehow he couldn’t shake the feeling of having failed his son…


	8. Chapter 8- Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sally decides to find Encyclopedia.

Sally ran into the garage and collapsed in her seat, sobbing as she struggled to make sense of this new reality…without her Encyclopedia by her side.  _ ‘He promised us he wouldn't get into the case…and as much as I hate to admit it…I think he was telling the truth about not getting into the case…’  _ She clenched her fists angrily. _ ‘No one hurts my Encyclopedia and gets away with it.’ _

She pushed herself to her feet and slammed her fists on the table.

“You have solved many cases for me, Encyclopedia,” she whispered into the empty garage, stuffed full with mementos from past cases and from a version of normal life. “Now it's my turn.”

She stood to her feet and grabbed the doorknob, turning it to get the letter from the table again, just to get a closer look at it.  _ ‘For you.’ _


	9. Chapter 9: Encyclopedia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Encyclopedia wakes up to a reality He was hoping to avoid.

Encyclopedia found himself waking up to darkness. It didn’t feel like the blindfold was still there though; it felt more like… _ ‘Duct tape?’ _

An experimental tug at his wrists found them bound with the substance as well.

As Encyclopedia tried to get what stock of his surroundings and situation that he could, footsteps behind him made him freeze.

“Ah. So the chief’s brat is finally awake again?” Encyclopedia’s silence in response to this apparently annoyed the man, as demonstrated by the harsh slap that drew a startled yelp from the young detective.

“What do you want?” Encyclopedia asked, trying to find some measure of control.

“Just a couple things. The profits from my business. The ability to run it without interference. Your father to stop the investigation.”

_ ‘What?!’ _

Encyclopedia’s shock must have shown on his face because the man laughed. “Yup. Had my guys snatch you...thanks for making that easy by the way.”

Encyclopedia’s face burned.  _ ‘That’s what I get for ignoring my instincts.’ _

The man continued “Anyway, sent him a ransom note saying that if he wanted to see you alive again, he’d call off the investigation into my little smuggling ring.”

“You won’t get away with this,” Encyclopedia growled.

More laughter. “Kid, I’ve been getting away with this for a while now and I’ll get away again. Might even end up with a bonus.”

“And what would that bonus be?”

Encyclopedia flinched when the man’s hand petted his hair. “Why you of course; I’d love to put that brain to use for me.”

Encyclopedia glared as best as he could while completely blinded. “Even if you did manage to get out of town with me, I’d NEVER work for you.”

“Eh. Your choice, Kid; either be a tool for me or be a toy for my boys. Take your pick.”

Encyclopedia’s stomach lurched at the insinuation. And even if this man didn’t mean...that, he surely meant serving as a punching bag for the rest of the ring. Swallowing his fear as best as he could, he growled “So you don’t keep your word? Must be hard to work for you then.”

This time, the man’s laughter actively made Encyclopedia’s skin crawl. “I see; you’re one of  _ those _ . The letter talked about seeing you alive again; it never said I’d give you back. After all, live footage is still ‘alive’.”

Encyclopedia swallowed hard again, this time to keep from getting sick.  _ ‘Sally, if you’ve started investigating, hurry!’ _


	10. Chapter 10- Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't mess with Sally when she is angry.

_ ‘Damn it damn it damn it!’ _

Sally growled angrily as she paced the floor of her room, her eyes scanning each and every piece of evidence that she had gathered over the past few days. Which was very little compared to the amount of time that she hadn't seen Encyclopedia. Which was a lot.

She glanced at the evidence again. The exotic animals had always been spotted on the outskirts of town, which meant that some deals were being made around those areas. Her eyes narrowed. The animals were all in the same area, which, after a few more minutes of studying the maps and data, could be narrowed down to two simple-looking houses within fifteen minutes of each other.  _ ‘After 5 to 6 years of working with Encyclopedia, simple is not so simple.’ _

She smirked and grabbed two outfits from her closet.

_ ‘I guess I'll play dress-up now.’ _

XXX

The first house was empty, unsurprisingly. She checked every single corner of the house to find nothing. No people, no exotic animals.  _ ‘No Encyclopedia.’ _

The second house proved more interesting, though. She wore a simple blue dress with her hair down to give the idea of a “lost girl”. She hated the look, but she would do whatever it took to bring her best friend back. The person who answered the door was a middle-aged man with black hair, brown eyes, and a full black suit.

_ ‘Who wears a full black suit in the summer?’ _

“Hi; I’m Sarah; I’m from down the street, and my friends heard some animal noises over here and dared me to go check it out. Is it OK with you if I take a look around?” she asked, pitching her voice a lot higher than she liked it, but she could do it.

The man smiled. “Sure thing, Darling. You know; there were a lot of dares I took when I was growing up.”

“Really?” she asked, coming into the main room where an extravagant rug decorated the wooden floor.

He nodded and then his phone buzzed. “Sorry, Darling; I have to take this call. Don't go looking around here, alright? Wouldn't want anything dangerous to happen to you.”

She nodded and let him leave before running over to the rug and moving it out of the way. Sure enough, there was a trapdoor underneath it. She silently opened the door and slid her feet onto the stairs below before letting it close above her.

_ ‘Stupid me; I should have left it open.’ _ She cursed, pulled out a flashlight, and went down the stairs.

“Encyclopedia?” she called out.


	11. Chapter 11: Encyclopedia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescue Part One

Through the haze of pain that was the multitude of bruises the smugglers had left on his body over the past few days (he swore they were trying to break him down and...it was starting to work), Encyclopedia registered a familiar and welcome voice. _ ‘Sally!’ _

He began struggling in his chair. The ring’s leader always took the time to gag him if he had to leave for an extended period and this time had been no exception, thick duct tape rendering Encyclopedia mute. Praying Sally would hear him struggling, he kept at it.

Eventually he had to stop because the pain got to be too much and he hung his head in defeat.  _ ‘Damn it…’ _

Then footsteps started coming his way and he winced.  _ ‘Please let that be Sally because if it’s not, this won’t end well for either of us…’ _

He ESPECIALLY didn’t want to think about what they’d do to Sally if they caught her because given what they had been saying, her being used as a bargaining chip to keep him in line would be the absolute best case scenario and he doubted it was very likely.


	12. Chapter 12- Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescue Part Two
> 
> Aka Sally finally makes a move.

Sally turned just in time to hear the knocking stop. She hissed louder, “Encyclopedia?”

The knocking began again, louder. Which meant she was closer. She started running, not caring if anyone heard her at this point. OK; she did care, but that wasn't the point.

She rounded the corner to see her best friend bruised, blindfolded, gagged, and tied to a chair.

“Encyclopedia!” she hissed and ran to his side. Ripping off the gag and blindfold, she cradled his face in her hands.

“Sally?” he gasped. “Is that you?”

“Yes, it is! Oh God; I missed you so much!” 

She pressed a kiss to his forehead and then his lips before moving behind him and setting to work on his binds. Then she stopped, moved back to the front with red cheeks, and whispered, “I just kissed you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!


	13. Chapter 13: Encyclopedia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescue Part Three
> 
> Aka They finally confess.

Encyclopedia found his mouth refusing to work. His best friend had just kissed him and while it was what he had wanted for a LONG time, she was looking torn about it. He cleared his throat.

“Yes. Yes you did,” he said. Then he let himself smile for the first time since he had woken up here. “And I’m glad you did. Now I know you would have said yes if I had asked you out at the party…”

Sally’s eyes went wide. Then she laughed. “We really are a pair of perfectly matched idiot-geniuses, aren’t we?”

Encyclopedia nodded and then winced.

“Hey…” Sally knelt down. “Let me look you over; make sure I don’t need to hunt down a first aid kit before we get the hell out of here.”

As she began checking him over, Encyclopedia sighed. “Getting out is going to be tricky. I never got to see any of the entrances or exits to this place so we’re going to have to use trial and error. And we don’t have a lot of time.”

“We’ll make it,” Sally said firmly, though her sureness didn’t make it to her eyes.

Finally she finished looking him over. “Okay; there aren’t any big or open wounds that need bandages so that’s not an issue. Do you think you can walk?”

Encyclopedia shook his head. He hadn’t been on his feet since he had woken up here and while nothing was broken, more than a few hits had been directed at his legs so they were still sore on top of being shaky.

“Then you can lean on me. Now come on.”

As Sally helped him out of the chair and they started on their search for a way out, the sound of the trapdoor sounded off overhead.

_ ‘Shit…’ _


	14. Chapter 14- Sally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rescue Part Four

Sally felt Encyclopedia jerk at the sound of the trapdoor and she growled angrily.  _ ‘I want one moment with my boyfriend, so fuck off!’ _

She quickly pointed to a door nearby. “In there.” 

Encyclopedia leaned on her side as she opened the door just enough to where they could both slip through unnoticed, and she quickly and quietly shut the door. She glanced around the room for a few moments and then picked him up and started running for the door at the end of the hallway. He laid his head on her shoulder and sighed. She bit back a smile as she finally made it to the door, put him down gently, and yanked the door open to the bright sunlight from outside.

“Oddly convenient door here,” Encyclopedia muttered.

“Be quiet, EB,” she scolded.

“EB?!?” he freaked. “Why are you calling me EB?!?”

“Because Encyclopedia has become a mouthful for me,” she shot back. “Now run.”

The two of them took off running for the town, Encyclopedia leaning heavily on her shoulder.  Sally took out her phone and pressed a few buttons.

“Hello?” the voice on the other end asked.

“Chief Brown! It's Sally! I found Encyclopedia!” she yelled. “We’re running to the police station right now!”

She hung up and grabbed a further hold of her best friend as they burst through the doors and collapsed on the cold tile floor.

“Thank God!” she managed to say before she passed out.


	15. Chapter 15: Chief Brown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunions.
> 
> Enough said.

Bruno rushed into the police station where he found his son and Sally passed out on the floor, Sally gripping Leroy tightly even while otherwise unaware of anything.

“Thank God…” he breathed. The call from Sally had been welcome and hope-inducing but actually seeing his son safe…

One of his officers came over with a first aid kit to check the pair over while a second called the hospital to send someone down to give Leroy a full check up.  Bruno reached down to brush hair out of his son’s eyes and flinched when the boy whined and pulled away. Sally’s grip tightened, though it still remained gentle, and she pulled her best friend closer; Leroy leaned into the touch, quickly relaxing.

Bruno sighed.  _ ‘It’s lucky she found him when she did. If he had been missing much longer, they might have broken him. Metaphorically if nothing else.’ _

Wincing, he glanced up at the sound of a siren. The EMTs they had called in were here.  They quickly set to checking over both teens though they naturally paid closer attention to Leroy, given how his skin was covered in bruises and other injury marks.

Sally stirred as one of the EMTs started examining her.

“Miss, can you tell me…?”

“I’m fine!” Sally snapped. “EB is the one who needs the help!”

Bruno raised an eyebrow at the nickname but didn’t say anything.

“Miss, my colleague is looking after your friend. You need checking too; you did pass out.”

Sally grumbled but acquiesced, keeping one eye on Leroy the entire time.

Partway through the examination, Leroy’s eyes fluttered open and he looked up at his father’s face.

Bruno smiled weakly. “Hey, Son.”

“Hey, Dad.” There was a long pause. Then Leroy whispered, only just loud enough to be heard “I’m sorry…”

Bruno and Sally both stared at him. Sally’s voice seemed to have been stolen by her shock so Bruno asked the question both of them currently had. “Why are you sorry?”

“I got myself kidnapped because apparently I can’t recognize a fake cop unless they have some kind of glaring error in their costume. I’m an idiot…”

Bruno’s mind took several minutes to parse what his son had said. Apparently someone had pretended to be a police officer to get Leroy alone. While he admitted to finding the image this conjured up uncomfortable, he couldn’t blame the boy; he was the son of the chief of the police so he had every reason to trust a cop.

Sally’s voice came back to say “You’re not an idiot! You just made a mistake. You said it yourself; there weren’t any obvious errors or signs he wasn’t what he claimed to be, right?”

Leroy shook his head. “But I didn’t know who he was.”

“Just because he was apparently new or someone you didn’t recognize doesn’t mean you should have seen red flags. Remember that guy who tried to arrest your dad just because he didn’t recognize him?”

Bruno smothered a laugh. Leroy managed a smile. “Okay but…”

“No buts. Just because you made a mistake, that doesn’t make you an idiot. It just makes you human.”

And with that, Sally entwined her fingers with Leroy’s; his smile strengthened and he finally seemed to relax.

Bruno caught Sally’s attention and mouthed “Thank you.”

She smiled and mouthed back “I’ll always find him.”


	16. Epilogue-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Encyclopedia and Sally finally reunite with the other kids.
> 
> And Bugs is Bugs. 
> 
> Sally still kicks his ass.

Sally and Encyclopedia held hands as they were walking in the park, (well, Sally was walking. Encyclopedia was hobbling along on crutches.) chatting about their decision to close down the detective business while EB was recovering from his kidnapping when they were surrounded by a bunch of kids and teens that they had helped with some of their problems a while back.

“Encyclopedia!” Charlie Stewart yelled. “It's good to see you out and about!”

“Thanks, Charlie,” Encyclopedia said, giving him a side hug.

Nellie Shortridge giggled. “So shouldn't you be at home?”

“It's a beautiful day, so we decided that we should be outside today,” Sally answered.

Bugs Meany came up to them with his Tigers by his side. “Well, if it isn't Mr. Know-it-all. Finally got what you deserve?”

Sally glared at him angrily. “YOU LEAVE MY BOYFRIEND ALONE, BUGS MEANY!!!” she snapped.

Everyone there went quiet and their mouths dropped open.

“...BOYFRIEND?!?” Bugs yelped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's done! Thank you all so much for joining us for this roller-coaster ride!
> 
> Unfortunately, this is where the story divides into the collab stories (Yessir, you read that right, there will be multiple collab stories with these amazing Kids where we throw them into crazy situations and watch them deal with the fallout) and my versions of events. My versions of events is even more of a rollercoaster than this was, so I hope you all enjoy the next few stories with the Kid Detectives!
> 
> <3~Mara Jade

**Author's Note:**

> And here we go on another adventure!


End file.
